SpaceX and T-Mobile team up to use Starlink satellites
In order to provide wireless phone service in distant areas of the US where coverage is patchy, T-Mobile US Inc. has partnered with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The alliance was unveiled by Musk and Mike Sievert, the CEO of T-Mobile, at a gathering on Thursday night at SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas.
According to T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert, the service will roll out gradually and be available for free on the company’s most popular plans for existing phones. Customers with more affordable plans could have to pay more.
The service, which uses SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, should be able to handle texts, photos, and possibly tiny video files, according to Musk. However, he cautioned that early in the roll-out, communications may take up to 30 minutes. Voice functionality will be added later.
Musk subsequently tweeted that the service will be included in Tesla Inc. vehicles so that drivers may make emergency calls and texts. Broadband internet access for homes, especially in remote locations without landline providers, was the intended goal of SpaceX’s Starlink subsidiary.
Starlink V2, launching next year, will transmit direct to mobile phones, eliminating dead zones worldwide
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2022
In recent years, the business has launched a fleet of around 2,800 satellites into low-Earth orbit. As of mid-January 2022, Starlink had launched over 2,000 satellites, with over 1,500 in operational orbit. The current system can support up to 4,408 satellites, nearly tripling the current number. Starlink is capable of delivering data faster than any other network. It possesses the ability to enable low-latency data transport across long distances.
To enable connections for T-Mobile customers, Muk said that SpaceX is creating unique antennae that will be attached to the company’s second-generation internet satellites. The still-under-construction Starship rocket from SpaceX will carry the V2 satellites into orbit.
What SpaceX deal Means for T-Mobile Users
To give households and mobile devices quicker internet connections, T-Mobile is constructing one of the biggest 5G networks in the country. The SpaceX deal means they can now compete with fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Kuiper Systems LLC, a low-Earth orbit satellite company, which announced a similar partnership with Verizon Communications Inc. last year.
What Should Africans Expect from Starlink?
According to Musk, the satellite-based service will function even when conventional cell phone towers are destroyed by storms and other natural calamities. He claimed that it will finally help those who are hurt or trapped in far-off places of the world preserve their lives.
Sievert claimed T-Mobile will dedicate a “slice of its mid-band PCS spectrum” to be integrated into Starlink satellites launched next year while speaking at the SpaceX site in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday night.
From remote locations in the lower 48 states, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and even certain remote locations on the water, T-Mobile customers will be able to use texting, MMS, and specific messaging apps. The service will eventually support voice. The service will be a part of T-most Cell’s well-liked mobile plans.
As CNBC Pro previously reported, Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note on the sector this week that they favored T-Mobile as a top pick within telecom services, and they “expect T-Mobile to continue to take share, driving superior top- and bottom-line growth, with the buyback likely to commence soon.”